WO2017195819A1 - Tooth soundness determination assistance device and tooth soundness determination assistance system - Google Patents

Abstract

A tooth soundness determination assistance device (20) includes: a gray scale conversion unit (21) for converting a fluorescent image obtained by imaging the fluorescence of a tooth irradiated with excitation light into a gray scale image; a gray scale value acquisition unit (22) for acquiring gray scale values at a reference point and a plurality of evaluation points in an image of the tooth in the gray scale image; a normalization unit (23) for normalizing the gray scale values at the plurality of evaluation points by the gray scale value at the reference point; and a tooth soundness determination data generation unit (24) for generating tooth soundness determination data visually indicating the gray scale value at the reference point and the normalized gray scale values at the plurality of evaluation points.

Description

Tooth health judgment support device and tooth health judgment support system

The present invention relates to a tooth health judgment support device and a tooth health judgment support system that support a tooth health judgment by a dentist.

One of the preventive dentistry is the diagnosis of initial caries. Until now, caries diagnosis has been performed by visual inspection or CPI probe, but in recent years, a QLF (Quantitative Light-induced Fluorescence) method for non-invasively objectively and quantitatively evaluating initial caries has been used (for example, patents). Reference 1). The QLF method is a diagnostic method that utilizes the fact that teeth emit fluorescence when the teeth are irradiated with blue-violet light (excitation light).

JP 2011-11055 A

If it is possible to determine the soundness of teeth, such as weak teeth that tend to cause caries or strong teeth that do not easily cause caries, more effective preventive dentistry can be performed. For example, when it is determined that the tooth is weak, health guidance and preventive measures can be performed so as to prepare an oral environment in which caries is unlikely to occur. However, in conventional preventive dentistry such as the QLF method, it is difficult to determine the soundness of teeth even though early caries can be diagnosed.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a tooth health determination support device and a tooth health determination support system that support a tooth health determination by a dentist.

A tooth health determination support device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a grayscale conversion unit that converts a fluorescence image obtained by imaging fluorescence of a tooth irradiated with excitation light into a grayscale image, and a tooth in the grayscale image. Gray scale value acquisition unit that acquires the gray scale values of the reference point and the plurality of evaluation points in the image of the tooth, and data for determining the tooth health that visually represents the gray scale value of the reference point and the gray scale values of the plurality of evaluation points A tooth soundness determination data generating unit for generating

The tooth health determination support apparatus may further include a normalization unit that normalizes gray scale values of a plurality of evaluation points with a gray scale value of a reference point, and the tooth health determination data generation unit includes a tooth In the soundness determination data, the gray scale values of a plurality of evaluation points normalized by the normalization unit may be visually represented.

Also, the normalization unit may normalize the gray scale values of the plurality of evaluation points by dividing the gray scale values of the plurality of evaluation points by the gray scale value of the reference point.

Further, the tooth health determination data generation unit may generate a graph representing the secular change of the gray scale value of the reference point and the gray scale values of the plurality of evaluation points as the tooth health determination data. .

For example, the reference point is a point at the maximum ridge of the tooth, and the evaluation point is a point at the tooth edge (tooth enamel part).

The gray scale value acquisition unit extracts the entire tooth image from the gray scale image to obtain the center of gravity or center of the entire tooth image, sets the maximum brightness point in the entire tooth image as a reference point, Alternatively, multiple evaluations are made at points located at a predetermined distance from the edge of the tooth in the center of gravity or in the center direction on a plurality of imaginary lines that pass through the center and have a predetermined angle with respect to the center of gravity or the center and the reference point. It may be set to a point.

In addition, a tooth health determination support system according to the present invention includes the above-described tooth health determination support device, an imaging device that irradiates the teeth with excitation light to capture fluorescence of the teeth, and generates a fluorescence image. And a display device for displaying the data for tooth health determination generated by the health determination support device.

According to the present invention, the fluorescence imaging image obtained by imaging the fluorescence of the tooth irradiated with the excitation light is analyzed to generate tooth health determination data, and the dentist refers to the tooth health determination data with reference to the tooth health determination data. Soundness judgment can be performed.

The block diagram of the dental soundness determination assistance system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention The figure which shows the fluorescence imaging image of the tooth which concerns on an example Longitudinal sectional view of a tooth according to an example The figure which shows the fluorescence imaging image of a certain child's tooth imaged by the regular dental examination FIG. 4A is a graph showing the secular change of each gray scale value of the reference point and the seven evaluation points obtained by analyzing the fluorescence image of FIG. 4A. Graph obtained by normalizing the gray scale values in FIG. 4B The figure which shows the fluorescence imaging image of another child's tooth imaged by the regular dental examination FIG. 5A is a graph showing the secular change of the gray scale values of the reference point and the three evaluation points obtained by analyzing the fluorescence imaging image of FIG. 5A. Graph obtained by normalizing the gray scale values in FIG. 5B The figure which shows the fluorescence imaging image of another child's tooth imaged by regular dental examination FIG. 6A is a graph showing the secular change of each grayscale value of the reference point and the three evaluation points obtained by analyzing the fluorescence image of FIG. 6A. Graph obtained by normalizing the gray scale values in FIG. 6B Illustration showing a visible light photo image of a healthy tooth A diagram showing an atomic force microscope image (1 μm field of view) of the surface of a healthy tooth Diagram showing fluorescence imaging image of healthy teeth Illustration showing a visible light photo image of an unhealthy tooth A diagram showing an atomic force microscope image (5 μm field of view) of the surface of an unhealthy tooth Diagram showing fluorescence imaging image of unhealthy teeth The figure which shows the processing procedure of the gray scale image which imaged the tooth The figure which shows the process sequence following FIG. 9A. The graph showing the brightness | luminance of each evaluation point in the tooth image illustrated to FIG. 9B The graph showing the normalized value of each evaluation point in the tooth image illustrated in FIG. 9B

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. However, more detailed explanation than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed descriptions of already well-known matters and repeated descriptions for substantially the same configuration may be omitted. This is to avoid the following description from becoming unnecessarily redundant and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

The inventor provides the accompanying drawings and the following description in order for those skilled in the art to fully understand the present invention, and is not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims. Absent.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a tooth health determination support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The tooth health determination support system 100 according to the present embodiment includes an imaging device 10, a tooth health determination support device 20, and a display device 30.

The imaging device 10 is a device that irradiates teeth with excitation light and images the fluorescence of the teeth. Specifically, the imaging apparatus 10 includes a main body 11, a light source 12, and a camera 13.

The main body 11 is a hollow rod-shaped member. Various electronic boards are arranged inside the hollow of the main body 11. The light source 12 and the camera 13 are arranged close to each other at the tip of the main body 11. The distal end of the main body 11 can be inserted into the patient's mouth.

The light source 12 is a device that emits blue-violet light (excitation light) having a specific wavelength (370 ± 40 nm). For example, the light source 12 can be configured by combining an LED (Light 光 Emitting Diode) or a xenon lamp with a filter that transmits light of the specific wavelength.

The camera 13 is a device that generates image data by photoelectrically converting light from a subject. For example, the camera 13 can be composed of an optical system and a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) image sensor. The optical system may include a filter that transmits only green to yellow-green light.

In the tooth health determination support system 100, the imaging device 10 is used to acquire a fluorescence image of a tooth. The enamel on the outermost layer of the crown has the property of transmitting light like glass. Further, the boundary between the enamel and the dentin in the inner layer has a property of emitting fluorescence when irradiated with light of a specific wavelength. In particular, a fluorescent substance at the boundary between enamel and dentin is excited to emit strong fluorescence when irradiated with excitation light having a specific wavelength, and the fluorescence is emitted to the outside through the enamel. The imaging device 10 images such tooth fluorescence.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a fluorescence imaging image of a tooth imaged by the imaging device 10. The image is an image of the occlusal surface of the maxillary right first molar. Note that the tooth images in the actual image are green to yellow-green, but are shown in gray scale for convenience in FIG.

Returning to FIG. 1, the tooth health determination support device 20 receives a fluorescence image of a tooth from the imaging device 10, processes the fluorescence image, and helps the tooth health determination of the tooth health by the dentist. It is an apparatus that generates data for determination. The imaging device 10 and the tooth health determination support device 20 are wired by a USB (Universal Serial や Bus) cable or a network cable, or may be wirelessly connected by WiFi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark). it can.

The dental soundness determination support device 20 can be configured by a general-purpose computer such as a PC (Personal Computer) or a server device, for example. Further, the tooth health determination support device 20 can be realized as SaaS (Software as a Service) on the cloud. In this case, the imaging device 10, the tooth health determination support device 20, and the display device 30 are connected to each other via a network such as the Internet.

Specifically, the tooth health determination support device 20 includes a gray scale conversion unit 21, a gray scale value acquisition unit 22, a normalization unit 23, and a tooth health determination data generation unit 24. The gray scale conversion unit 21, the gray scale value acquisition unit 22, the normalization unit 23, and the tooth health determination data generation unit 24 can be realized by software, hardware, or a combination thereof.

The gray scale conversion unit 21 converts a fluorescence captured image obtained by capturing fluorescence of teeth irradiated with excitation light into a gray scale image. The fluorescence image of the tooth is, for example, an RGB color image. As described above, the tooth image appears in green to yellowish green in the fluorescence image. The gray scale conversion unit 21 temporarily converts the fluorescence image of the tooth into the HSV color space, and deletes the hue information (Hue) and the saturation information (Saturation) while retaining the luminance information (Value). Can be obtained. Note that the number of gradations of the grayscale image is arbitrary, for example, 256 gradations.

The gray scale value acquisition unit 22 acquires the gray scale values of the reference point and the plurality of evaluation points in the tooth image in the gray scale image converted by the gray scale conversion unit 21. For example, in the fluorescence imaging image of the tooth in FIG. 2, point P ₀ is a reference point, and points P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ , and P ₄ are evaluation points. Note that in a grayscale image with 256 gradations, the grayscale value of the blackest point is “255”, and the grayscale value of the whitest point is “0”. That is, the gray scale value increases as the portion of the gray scale image appears darker.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a tooth (molar). Reference points and evaluation points will be described with reference to the cross-sectional view. The reference point is set at a position where the fluorescence at the boundary surface between the enamel 101 and the dentin 102 can be captured.

Here, the fluorescence at the boundary surface between the enamel 101 and the dentin 102 passes through the enamel 101 and reaches the surface layer. If decalcification of the enamel 101 proceeds due to initial caries or the like, the enamel 101 crystals As a result, the light is diffusely reflected, and the fluorescence at the boundary surface between the enamel 101 and the dentin 102 cannot be accurately captured in the tooth surface layer. Therefore, it is preferable that the reference point is a point at the maximum ridge where the crystallinity of the enamel 101 is relatively stable, unlike the initial caries. In this way, at the evaluation point, the fluorescence transmitted through the enamel 101 in the row direction of the enamel trabeculae can be captured.

On the other hand, the evaluation point is set at a position where only the fluorescence of the enamel 101 can be captured. For example, a point at the edge of the tooth can be used as the evaluation point. At the evaluation point, the fluorescence transmitted across the row of enamel trabeculae will be captured. Therefore, if the crystallinity of the enamel 101 is deteriorated, the light is irregularly reflected and the fluorescence of the enamel 101 captured at the evaluation point becomes bright. Conversely, if the crystallinity of the enamel 101 is good, the light is less likely to be diffusely reflected and the fluorescence of the enamel 101 captured at the evaluation point becomes dark. Thus, the quality of the enamel 101 crystallinity can be determined by the brightness of the evaluation points in the gray scale image.

FIG. 7A shows a visible light photograph image of a healthy tooth, FIG. 7B shows an atomic force microscope image (1 μm field of view) of the surface of a healthy tooth, and FIG. 7C shows a fluorescence imaging image of the healthy tooth. As can be seen from FIGS. 7B and 7C, the shape of the enamel particles is almost uniform in healthy teeth (see FIG. 7B), and the enamel 101 is less likely to be diffusely reflected and appears dark in the fluorescence image (FIG. 7C). reference).

On the other hand, FIG. 8A shows a visible light photograph image of an unhealthy tooth, FIG. 8B shows an atomic force microscope image (5 μm field of view) of the surface of an unhealthy tooth, and FIG. 8C shows a fluorescence imaging image of an unhealthy tooth. As can be seen from FIG. 8B and FIG. 8C, irregular enamel particles are scattered in unhealthy teeth (see FIG. 8B), and the enamel 101 is reflected brightly in the fluorescence imaging image due to irregular reflection of light (FIG. 8C). reference).

Returning to FIG. 1, the normalization unit 23 normalizes the gray scale values of the plurality of evaluation points with the gray scale values of the reference points in the gray scale image. For example, the normalization unit 23 normalizes the gray scale values of the plurality of evaluation points by dividing the gray scale values of the plurality of evaluation points by the gray scale value of the reference value. In this case, if the evaluation point is darker than the reference point in the grayscale image, the normalized value of the evaluation point is larger than 1. On the other hand, if the brightness of the reference point and the evaluation point are substantially the same, the normalized value of the evaluation point is approximately 1.

In this way, by normalizing the grayscale values of the evaluation points, even if the grayscale image becomes brighter or darker overall due to individual differences or imaging conditions, multiple grayscale images are not affected It is possible to compare the gray scale values of the evaluation points.

In addition to the above, for example, the difference between the gray scale value of the reference point and the gray scale value of the evaluation point can be a normalized value.

The tooth health determination data generation unit 24 generates tooth health determination data that visually represents the gray scale value of the reference point and the gray scale values of the plurality of evaluation points in the gray scale image. For example, the tooth soundness determination is performed by adding the grayscale values of the reference point and the plurality of evaluation points to the fluorescence imaging image of the tooth imaged by the imaging device 10 or the grayscale image converted by the grayscale conversion unit 21. Data. Alternatively, the tooth soundness determination data may be obtained by adding the grayscale values of a plurality of evaluation points normalized by the normalization unit 23 to the fluorescence imaging image of the tooth or the grayscale image thereof, that is, the normalized value. Can do.

Further, by storing the fluorescence image of the tooth or the grace case image thereof, the tooth health determination data generation unit 24 uses the gray scale value of the reference point and the gray of the plurality of evaluation points as the tooth health determination data. A graph representing the aging of the scale value can be generated.

The display device 30 is a device that displays the tooth health determination data generated by the tooth health determination support device 20. The dentist can determine the soundness of the teeth by looking at the data for determining the soundness of the teeth displayed on the display device 30.

Next, a usage example of the dental health determination support system 100 will be described using the fluorescence imaging image of the teeth of elementary school children acquired in the regular dental examination.

FIG. 4A shows a fluorescence imaging image of a child's tooth taken by a regular dental examination. Each fluorescence imaging image in FIG. 4A images the occlusal surface of the upper right first molar of this child. The child's teeth had no caries for six years. That is, FIG. 4A shows an example of a fluorescence image of “strong teeth”. Periodic dental examinations are carried out every spring and autumn, but for these children, fluorescence imaging images of teeth have not been acquired in the first-year spring and first-year autumn regular dental examinations.

The graph of FIG. 4B shows the secular change of each gray scale value of the reference point and seven evaluation points obtained by analyzing the fluorescence imaging image of FIG. 4A. In each fluorescent captured image in FIG. 4A, a point at the largest ridge is set as a reference point, and seven points at the edge are set as evaluation points. The graph is displayed on the display device 30. In addition, since the fluorescence imaging image of the fifth grade autumn was totally dark and unclear, the reference point and the evaluation point could not be set, and the gray scale values of the fifth grade autumn reference point and the evaluation point could not be acquired. Absent.

As can be seen from the graph of FIG. 4B, with strong teeth, the gray scale value of the reference point changes while maintaining a state smaller than the gray scale value of the evaluation point. Furthermore, with strong teeth, there is a tendency that the gray scale values of all points of the reference point and the evaluation point increase with time (appear dark in the gray scale image).

4C is a graph obtained by normalizing the gray scale value of FIG. 4B. The graph is displayed on the display device 30. As can be seen from this graph, with a strong tooth, the normalized value of the evaluation point is approximately 1.5 or more, and is often 2 or more.

FIG. 5A shows a fluorescence imaging image of another child's tooth imaged in a regular dental examination. Each fluorescence imaging image in FIG. 5A images the occlusal surface of this child's upper right first molar. The child's teeth are carious and filled with caries during a regular dental examination in the fall of third grade. That is, FIG. 5A shows an example of a fluorescence image of “weak teeth”.

The graph of FIG. 5B shows the secular change of each gray scale value of the reference point and the three evaluation points obtained by analyzing the fluorescence imaging image of FIG. 5A. In each fluorescent captured image in FIG. 5A, a point at the maximum ridge is set as a reference point, and three points at the edge are set as evaluation points. The graph is displayed on the display device 30.

As can be seen from the graph of FIG. 5B, in the weak teeth, the gray scale value of the reference point and the gray scale value of the evaluation point are substantially similar values. Further, with weak teeth, the gray scale values of all the reference points and evaluation points vary with time but do not tend to increase over time (they appear dark in the gray scale image).

The graph of FIG. 5C is obtained by normalizing the gray scale value of FIG. 5B. The graph is displayed on the display device 30. As can be seen from this graph, with a weak tooth, the normalized value of the evaluation point is approximately 1.2 or less and may be 1 or less.

FIG. 6A shows a fluorescence imaging image of still another child's tooth imaged by a regular dental examination. Each fluorescence imaging image in FIG. 6A images the occlusal surface of this child's upper right first molar. The child's teeth showed initial caries. That is, FIG. 6A shows an example of a fluorescence image of “weak teeth”.

The graph of FIG. 6B shows the secular change of each gray scale value of the reference point and the three evaluation points obtained by analyzing the fluorescence imaging image of FIG. 6A. In each fluorescent captured image in FIG. 6A, a point at the maximum ridge is set as a reference point, and three points at the edge are set as evaluation points. The graph is displayed on the display device 30. As can be seen from this graph, with the weak teeth, the gray scale values of all the reference points and evaluation points fluctuate with time, but do not show a tendency to increase with time (appear dark in the gray scale image).

The graph in FIG. 6C is obtained by normalizing the gray scale value in FIG. 6B. The graph is displayed on the display device 30. As can be seen from this graph, the normalized value of the evaluation point is about 1.4 for weak teeth.

The above reference points and evaluation points can be automatically set by the gray scale value acquisition unit 22 as follows, for example. 9A and 9B show a processing procedure of a gray scale image obtained by imaging a tooth.

The gray scale value acquisition unit 22 trims and converts unnecessary portions around the teeth in the fluorescence imaging image obtained by imaging the fluorescence of the teeth irradiated with the excitation light into a gray scale image. The contour, that is, the entire image of the tooth is extracted. The gray scale value acquisition unit 22 obtains the center of gravity or the center Pctr of the entire tooth image, and sets the point of maximum luminance in the entire tooth image as the reference point Pref.

When the center of gravity or the center Pctr and the reference point Pref are determined, the gray scale value acquisition unit 22 sets the 0 degree axis L0 connecting the center of gravity or the center Pctr and the reference point Pref, and passes through the center of gravity or the center Pctr to the 0 degree axis L0. On the other hand, a plurality of virtual lines L * forming a predetermined angle θ are set. Note that θ can be set, for example, in increments of 5 ° within a range of relative angles given to the 0 degree axis L0. The range of the relative angle and θ can be arbitrarily set by the user. When a plurality of virtual lines L * are set, the gray scale value acquisition unit 22 determines a plurality of evaluation points Peva at points on the virtual lines L * that are separated from the tooth edges by a predetermined distance in the center of gravity or the center Pctr direction. Set as. In this way, the reference point and the evaluation point are automatically set.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9B, 27 evaluation points Peva are set. FIG. 10A is a graph showing the brightness of each evaluation point in the tooth image illustrated in FIG. 9B. FIG. 10B is a graph showing the normalized value of each evaluation point in the tooth image illustrated in FIG. 9B. When the reference point and the evaluation point are set, the normalization unit 23 then normalizes the gray scale value of the evaluation point, and the tooth health determination data generation unit 24 is as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B. Generate a graph. As described above, according to the tooth health determination support system 100 according to the present embodiment, a fluorescence imaging image of a tooth is captured by the imaging device 10, and the fluorescence imaging image is analyzed by the tooth health determination support device 20 to obtain a tooth health. Sex determination data is generated, and the tooth health determination data is displayed on the display device 30. The dentist can comprehensively determine the health of a tooth, such as whether it is a strong tooth or a weak tooth, with reference to the tooth health determination data displayed on the display device 30.

As described above, the embodiment has been described as an example of the technique in the present invention. For this purpose, the accompanying drawings and detailed description are provided.

Accordingly, among the components described in the accompanying drawings and the detailed description, not only the components essential for solving the problem, but also the components not essential for solving the problem in order to illustrate the above technique. May also be included. Therefore, it should not be immediately recognized that these non-essential components are essential as those non-essential components are described in the accompanying drawings and detailed description.

In addition, since the above-described embodiment is for illustrating the technique in the present invention, various changes, replacements, additions, omissions, etc. can be made within the scope of the claims or the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Dental soundness determination support system 10 Imaging device 20 Dental soundness determination support device 21 Gray scale conversion part 22 Gray scale value acquisition part 23 Normalization part 24 Tooth soundness determination data generation part 30 Display apparatus

Claims (7)

A grayscale conversion unit that converts a fluorescence imaging image obtained by imaging fluorescence of teeth irradiated with excitation light into a grayscale image;
A grayscale value acquisition unit for acquiring grayscale values of a reference point and a plurality of evaluation points in the image of the tooth in the grayscale image;
A tooth health determination support apparatus comprising a tooth health determination data generation unit that generates tooth health determination data that visually represents the gray scale values of the reference points and the gray scale values of the plurality of evaluation points. A normalization unit that normalizes grayscale values of the plurality of evaluation points with a grayscale value of the reference point;
The tooth health determination data generation unit visually represents gray scale values of the plurality of evaluation points normalized by the normalization unit in the tooth health determination data. Dental health judgment support device. The tooth health according to claim 2, wherein the normalization unit normalizes the gray scale values of the plurality of evaluation points by dividing the gray scale values of the plurality of evaluation points by the gray scale value of the reference point. Sex determination support device. The tooth health determination data generation unit generates, as the tooth health determination data, a graph representing a secular change in the gray scale value of the reference point and the gray scale values of the plurality of evaluation points. The dental soundness determination support apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 4. The reference point is the point at the highest ridge in the occlusal surface of the tooth;
The dental health determination support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the evaluation point is a point at a peripheral portion of a tooth. The gray scale value acquisition unit extracts a whole tooth image from the gray scale image to obtain a center of gravity or a center of the whole tooth image, and sets a point of maximum luminance in the whole tooth image as the reference point. And spaced apart from the tooth edge by a predetermined distance in the direction of the center of gravity or the center on a plurality of imaginary lines passing through the center of gravity or the center and forming a predetermined angle with respect to the 0 degree axis connecting the center of gravity or the center and the reference point The tooth health determination support device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a point at a position is set as the plurality of evaluation points. The dental health determination support device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An imaging device that irradiates teeth with excitation light and images fluorescence of the teeth to generate a fluorescence imaging image;
A tooth health determination support system comprising: a display device that displays data for tooth health determination generated by the tooth health determination support device.

Images